Mental health has been a point of contemplation for some, if not many of us. As most of us know, it is quite challenging to move through life with the baggage of mental disturbances and emotional overwhelm.
For some to be successful in our devotional practices, if we address our untreated trauma and mental agitation, we can remove many of the obstacles in our approach and practice of Bhakti. For ourselves and those we care about, there can be great benefit from therapeutic or mental health services.
Thus, the Youth Sevā Team has formed a new initiative to provide resources and guidance for devotees. To be able to help facilitate our community and family’s material and spiritual wellbeing, we would like to hold a meeting to discuss organizing some classes and offer information, tools, and practices to address mental/emotional/relational issues, physical health, and wellness concerns of our young devotees.
Rasāṅgī dāsī, LMFT, is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California and would like to offer her expertise and knowledge of mental health and Krishna Consciousness to show how balance, clarity, and empowerment can be achieved through the study and practice of the ancient teachings of Dharma. These ancient texts are revealed in the Book of Dharma (Making enlightened Choices) by Simon Haas, aka Sundar Gopal das. These principles were given at the inception of the creation by the Supreme Lord to Lord Brahmā to teach us how to live a creative, fulfilling, and productive life on earth and to go back to Godhead when eligible.
Gurudas Prabhuji, founder of Vedic Care Charitable Trust, will also be offering his guidance for care of devotees as a global initiative.
Other health and wellness professionals will be invited to address various challenges and concerns to be able to teach us how to effectively manage and balance our material condition and spiritual life through their skills and tools. We welcome anyone interested in offering these services with a health and/or wellness background and who is a practicing devotee, to join us in this initiative. Please feel free to contact me via messenger.
Free info session on Wednesday, June 23rd on Jitsi at 4-6pm PST, 7-9pm EST. https://meet.jit.si/VedicHealthCollective
Register here: https://forms.gle/6PHsBRWzfB6geMcP6
Biography of Śrīmatī Rasāṅgī Didiji:
Rasāṅgī became a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda in 1973 and lived in temples in Washington DC, New Dwaraka and Berkley and San Francisco. She also served in the temples of Śrīla BR Śrīdhara Mahārāja in San Jose and Santa Cruz, California. She was given Siksha initiation by Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in 2009.
Rasāṅgī graduated JFK University with a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology in 1995 and is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California. She is currently working with pregnant women and young mothers in residential treatment who have substance use disorders. Her clients are trying desperately to give up their addictions so that they can keep their children. Her joy is to help these women replace their addictions with life skills such as Mindfulness Meditation (to get control of the monkey mind) and Emotional Regulation (by using their breath to calm themselves in order to make good decisions) and develop a connection to their inner wisdom (Super Soul). Watching these beautiful women find strength and their voices to advocate for themselves has been truly inspiring! Assisting these young women to create wonderful lives worth living for, for themselves and their children has been transformative for her!
Biography of Śrīmān Gurudas Prabhuji (beginning taken from ISKCON Vancouver website):
Śrīmān Gurudas Prabhuji was one of the very first pioneering disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda, initiated in 1967. He was instrumental in setting up and developing the San Francisco store front Temple for Śrīla Prabhupāda’s San Francisco arrival in January 1967. He was one of the original six devotees who started Krishna Consciousness in England by establishing a temple, meeting and recording with the Beatles. He was also one of the first devotees to join Śrīla Prabhupāda in India, joining his “International Saṅkīrtana Party”. He was the president and in charge of overseeing the building of Krishna Balarām Mandir in Vrindavan.
Many of the iconic early photographs of Śrīla Prabhupāda were taken by him. Śrīla Prabhupāda called Gurudas “our ambassador of good will”. Śrīmān Gurudas Prabhuji worked as job coach to find placements for mentally challenged individuals with Caminar. He oversaw these clients and acted as a liaison between his clients and their employers to ensure a smooth transition. He has facilitated workshops re-entering and interacting with society.
Prabhuji's work does not stop there. He is the President and Founder of Vedic Care Charitable Trust (https://www.vediccarecharity.org), a global initiative focused on providing a loving oasis of spiritual and preventative, holistic healthcare for elderly, isolated and forgotten devotees. The VCC was founded in 2015.
Biography of Anurādhā dāsī:
Anurādhā had the good fortune of being born and raised in a Gauḍīya Vaishnava family. She is a dīkṣā disciple of Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Goswami Mahārāja and harinama disciple of Śrīla Bhaktivedanta Nārāyaṇa Goswami Mahārāja.
She desires to serve the Gauḍīya Vaishnava sabhā with her career as a licensed doctor of physical therapist. She is a certified health coach and prenatal and postpartum coach. Her inclination has been focused on women's health and she plans to further her practice to be able to offer more empowered care for women.